Here is a piece of news that should chill the bones ofevery African as our leaders continue to fight fordespotism, while the Europeans and America, throughtheir NATO, have decided that African oil is going tobe playing a major role.

Yesterday, it was the millions of Africans who wereabducted and brought to America as slaves; today, itis going to be our natural resources, oil, which isagain bringing back the Europeans and their offspringsin America, (North and South, including Canada),Australia and New Zealand, who are again finding areason to recolonize Africa.

Let Africans and their leaders continue theirfoolishness of squabbling and killing one another withWorld War II guns. Our children, grandchildren andgreatgrandchildren ad infinitum will continue to beslaves to the "master-race."

I have yet to see an African leader extend invitationto NATO to send in troops to Africa. But they, as itis heir "prerogative of choice," have decided theywould again invite themselves to Africa. When willAfrica learn?

The new African Union will be meeting in July to markthe first anniversary of its founding, and I wonderwhether news like this will give them a pause forconcern. President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa soundedthe alarm some weeks ago when he said of the Americaninvasion of Iraq:

"The prospect facing the people of Iraq should serveas sufficient warning that in future we too might haveothers descend on us, guns in hand to force-feed us(with democracy)," Mbeki said.

"If the United Nations does not matter...why shouldwe, the little countries of Africa... think that wematter and will not be punished if we get out ofline?" he asked in remarks prepared for a conferenceon elections, democracy and governance. Mbeki saidthat there was no 'one-size-fits-all model ofdemocracy.'

Some African leaders accused him of over-reacting. Nowthat they have tested their equipment in Iraq, andhave been stopped for the time being from going afterSyria, Africa seems to be the new focus. If you readthe New York Times' "The Week in Review," you will seewhat I am saying. It is so mind-boggling. Well, itseems Mbeki is already a prophet of truth. Here isthe article from the Chicago Tribune:

WASHINGTON -(KRT) - NATO's global role is expected toreach south to Africa to bring a new military focus onthat "hotbed of instability," the alliance's supremecommander, Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, said Monday.

He also said consideration is being given to thepossibility of giving NATO a peacekeeping role inIraq, though no decision has been made. NATO has beenperforming a limited peacekeeping mission inAfghanistan. "Africa becomes more and more of achallenge, and more and more of a focus . for thealliance," Jones told a group of defense reporters.

He said the situation in Africa in part reinforces theneed for the United States to maintain land and navalforces in NATO.

"We might wish to have more presence in the southernrim of the Mediterranean, where there's a certainnumber of countries that could be destabilized in thenear future," he said.

The nations along that southern shore are Morocco,Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. Jones said west andcentral Africa figure in NATO's future, too.

"Carrier battle groups and expeditionary forces maynot spend six months in the Med(iterannean)," he said,"but I bet they're going to spend half their timegoing down the west coast of Africa for a very focusedactivity in that part of the world."

Central Africa has become a troubled and threateningregion because of civil wars, religious conflict,rampant corruption and terrorist activity.

"Africa has really had a very marginal effort put in,"said Jones, who assumed his NATO command three monthsago. "There are a number of countries in areas ofAfrica that are clearly the main route of narcoticstrafficking and terrorism - just hotbeds ofinstability."

"There has been some attention paid to central andwestern Africa," he said, "but there's not been a lotof alarm."

A major concern for the United States is African oil,which comes primarily from Nigeria, Angola, Chad andEquatorial Guinea.

"Instability in the Persian Gulf and Venezuela hasstrengthened a push within the Bush administration tolook elsewhere for crude oil," said analyst JessicaKrueger in a report for the Washington-based center."West African oil currently accounts for approximately11 to 15 percent of U.S. oil imports. As productionrises, west Africa may be in a position to increaseexports to the United States, and its share of U.S.oil imports may rise . In this context, the sub-regionis receiving increasing attention from policy-makers."

West African crude oil production is expected tonearly double over the next six years, according tothe report, from 3.7 million barrels a day to 6.3million barrels a day. Morrison said discoveries oflarge off-shore oil fields are expected to boostNigeria's oil reserves from 18 billion barrels to 32billion barrels.

This is eight times the proven oil reserves of Alaska.Total U.S. oil reserves come to 22 billion barrels.

But Nigeria has been torn by conflict between itsChristian and Muslim populations, as well as by aninsurgency on the part of its indigenous Ijaw people,who claim they are being exploited by oil companiesfrom America and other western nations.

Armed Ijaw youths have seized a number of Shell Oilinstallations and threatened those of other producers."Ijaw terrorists have taken 800,000 barrels out ofNigerian oil production," Morrison said.

Recent elections in Nigeria were marred by widespreadviolence and charges of rigged balloting.

Morrison said investigations by the United NationsSecurity Council and other organizations have foundrampant criminal activity in west Africa, and thatsome of it involves money laundering and commoditiessmuggling that benefit al-Qaida and Hezbollahterrorists.

Further south, in Angola, the International MonetaryFund says some $4 billion in oil revenues havedisappeared. Angola, site of a decades-long civil war,is also noted for corruption.

Liberia is also a point of concern. President "CharlesTaylor has turned Liberia into a criminal enterprise,"Morrison said."

In Iraq, the smoking gun was supposed to be weapons ofmass destruction which are yet to be found. In Africa,here is our own smoking gun already found:

"Morrison said investigations by the United NationsSecurity Council and other organizations have foundrampant criminal activity in west Africa, and thatsome of it involves money laundering and commoditiessmuggling that benefit al-Qaida and Hezbollahterrorists."

Emphasis is on "money laundering and commoditiessmuggling that benefit al-Qaida and Hezbollahterrorists." We don't even have clean drinking water,yet we have enough to fund al-Qaida and Hezbollah. Give a dog a bad name. Plus, add "rigged elections inNigeria" and corruption in Angola to the tune of "$4billion missing." You have all the major smoking guns. And it just so happens that the oil is concentratedin West Africa.